Good Parents, Good Children, Good Hospital!
A few months ago, Genevieve’s daughter, Grace Murray, was visiting from Rio Rancho. One morning, she was washing the breakfast dishes while her mom walked.
“I heard my mom yell out—she had fallen off the treadmill! She couldn’t stand up, and I was worried she might have broken her hip,” Grace recalls. With her father’s help, they were able to get Genevieve into the car and take her to the ER at Alta Vista Medical Center in Las Vegas, New Mexico, 30 miles away.
“I drove up to the ER entrance and ran inside to see about a gurney, since my mother couldn’t walk. Two young ladies brought one out and lifted my mother onto it. They rolled her inside right away,” says Grace.
As soon as Genevieve was settled, Grace and her dad were able to see her. “We knew something was seriously wrong. The ER doctor ordered an x-ray, and it showed she had broken her left hip,” recalls Grace. Her mother was going to require surgery.
Later that day, the other children arrived, and Genevieve was transferred to an inpatient room. “The nurses were so helpful. If Mom needed anything, they provided it for her. They checked often to make sure she was comfortable,” remembers Grace.
Because of the earlier stroke, Genevieve was on blood thinners, and the anesthesiologist explained this would place her at a higher risk during surgery. The family considered the possibility of transferring her to a hospital in Santa Fe, but as they were considering what to do, orthopedic surgeon Dr. Chenthuran Deivaraju (Dr. Chen) visited.
“We were very reassured after speaking with Dr. Chen, so we decided he should perform the surgery at Alta Vista to avoid putting Mom through the stress of a move,” recounts Grace.
“Dr. Chen was a very good surgeon,” she says. “He came to my mother’s room every day after the surgery to see how she was feeling and ask if she had any pain. He was always so pleasant, and we were all very impressed with him.”
By Saturday, Genevieve had recovered sufficiently to be moved to a rehabilitation hospital for physical therapy. Because three of her children live in Rio Rancho, they wondered whether Genevieve could be transferred to a rehabilitation hospital there.
“The director of inpatient services, Joanne Campbell, RN, was wonderful. She worked very hard and found my mother a place at a rehab hospital near where we live. This made everything so much better for us and for both our parents,” explains Grace.
When asked about her opinion of Alta Vista Medical Center, Grace says, “It’s a good hospital! They have always treated my mother very well. It was sad she broke her hip, but she had so many good people there taking care of her—and our whole family—all the way through.”
Grace’s parents now live in an assisted living facility in Rio Rancho where at least one of their children can visit every day. “Seeing us more often really perks them up,” Grace declares. “Our mother is a great mom who instilled respect and good manners in all of us.”
Clearly, these traits come through even today as they lovingly care for their parents.